IS VENEZUELA THE NEW NIGER?: THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO LINK HUGO CHAVEZ TO IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

IS VENEZUELA THE NEW NIGER?: THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO LINK HUGO CHAVEZ TO IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

"Such a step by Washington would be entirely predicated on rumors, inventions, and conjecture--a script, at this point at least, entirely based on phony or no evidence--like the spurious yellowcake of Niger which provided the basis for U.S. intervention in Iraq. By conceivably tying Chávez into the Iranian crisis, the Bush administration possibly could be laying the groundwork for its own dirty tricks campaign." (i.e. ANOTHER ONE...)

The Bush Administration is Trying to Link Hugo Chavez to Iran's Nuclear Program

By LARRY BIRNS and MICHAEL LETTIERI

Washington is no stranger to flimsy pretexts when it comes to justifying its ill-conceived, and at times illicit, Latin American initiatives. The contra epoch, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban missile crisis, Ollie North, former U.S. ambassador John Negroponte's skullduggery in Honduras, and countless acts of chicanery aimed at Havana, Santiago, Grenada and Guatemala come to mind.

A spate of articles tying Hugo Chávez to Iran's covert nuclear program suggests that Washington may now be finding it increasingly difficult to resist further calumniating Venezuela by working to forge a new weapon for its anti-Caracas jihad.

The only problem is that the basis for such a charge would be a complete concoction, more worthy to be put to work in Iraq, where anything goes, than in Latin America. Such a scenario would intimate that ties exist between alleged Venezuelan uranium supplies and the Iranian nuclear program. In other words, Caracas would be presented as a terrorist nation, illicitly involved in trafficking bootleg uranium to the pariah Iranian regime in exchange for nuclear devices and maybe other considerations.

The Plot

In the fall of 2005, Venezuelan officials began to explore the possibility of acquiring nuclear reactor technology from either Argentina or Brazil, both of which have nuclear energy programs and facilities for peaceful use. This maneuver provoked a predictably prickly response from the State Department, which made no effort to disguise the fact that it would not be amused if this transaction would be carried out. While no agreement was ever reached or shipments made, Caracas already had established close political ties with Tehran, which became yet another reason why the White House was suspicious of Chávez's ultimate intent. Iran's decision to resume enrichment of uranium this year, which has now provoked an international uproar, also brought new scrutiny to the purported burgeoning relationship between that nation and Venezuela. At the U.N., Caracas helped fuel such suspicions, as Venezuela was one of only a handful of member nations that expressed support for Iran's resumption of peaceful nuclear activity which would effectively not be under the U.N.'s supervision.

The wide-ranging, if somewhat vague, cooperation agreements between Iran and Venezuela were repeatedly reiterated by Washington sources to suggest that more malignant factors might be at play. The most popular rumor had Caracas sending its uranium to Iran in exchange for nuclear technology, with the most radical version beginning with accusations that Caracas was seeking to obtain weaponry from Tehran. Some went so far as to suggest that nuclear devices already had been clandestinely transported to Venezuela on chartered oil tankers. Further speculative intrigue came about after the expulsion of the New Tribes missionaries from the Amazonas region in February, as stampeding rumors began to circulate that the evangelical group was somehow involved in uranium exploration activities in the state of Bolívar and that the missionaries' airstrip was facilitating such anti-Chávez operations. The allegations, which included purported links to the CIA, were heatedly denied by the group.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon's plans for an explosive test next month in the Nevada desert have been put on hold for at least three weeks because of a lawsuit over the controversial experiment, which critics contend may be part of an effort to develop new nuclear weapons.

The National Nuclear Security Administration announced Tuesday that the massive blast planned for June 2 -- intended to help the military learn how to better target underground facilities -- had been postponed because of the "scheduling of legal proceedings" in a federal court suit.

While the blast does not involve nuclear material, the experiment is planned for the NNSA's test site north of Las Vegas, where most of the nation's nuclear testing was once done.

Despite assurances from the Pentagon, critics of the plan, including Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, say they are concerned the experiment may be part of an effort to develop and potentially test new nuclear weapons. Matheson said such a test would amount to "ignoring" a requirement for congressional approval.

The Pentagon has conceded that information learned in the test could be applied to existing nuclear weapons.

A spokesperson for Matheson said he hoped the delay announced Tuesday would allow the public to learn more about the planned blast.

In the test, known as "Divine Strake," more than 700 tons of fuel oil and fertilizer -- 280 times the amount used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing -- would be exploded in a huge pit, in an attempt to heavily damage or destroy a 1,100-foot tunnel beneath the pit.

Planners hope the explosion will help them develop new techniques to attack underground targets, such as facilities used by North Korea and Iran to shelter their nuclear infrastructure.

The Pentagon estimates the blast could send a cloud of dust more than 10,000 feet into the air. Critics fear the dust could could spread radioactive particles from old nuclear tests.

But the Pentagon insists that the dust will be free of radioactive particles and the blast won't even been seen off the test site, although planners have said strong winds in the area would force them to postpone the explosion.

The specter of nuclear-laden dust is a sensitive subject for those living downwind of the test range in Nevada and Utah, where generations of people have dealt with health problems blamed on fallout from above-ground nuclear tests in the 1950s.

The word "strake" used in the experiment's name is a nautical term, referring to planking extending along the length of a ship.

Another article says it will be postponed until at least June 23rd, Wonder if this slows their Iranian aims down any. CT